Sunday, November 25, 2012

Wishing a Peaceful demise to MBA shops



19 FEB 2012 , Times of India


Business dull, 65 B-schools across India to shut down

Writes: (today/Feb 2012 there are 3,900 management schools with close to 3.5 lakh seats) that supply overshot demand by a long straw. And now comes the fallout.

Comes Oct 2012- TOI, Mumbai reports--225 B-schools, 52 engineering colleges close in 2 years.

IBN live reports:

in Andhra, 40 MCA, MBA colleges get AICTE nod for closure

Desimba.in reports: 14 Andhra Pradesh MBA colleges will be closing their MBA programs this year
...Liked the word Desi MBA.

What I understand about business of the business schools in India is like this...(If we leave the premier B schools)...
With due regards...
Generic skill body shoppers for industry, factory, shops, online business, any industry. Job types offered?
data entry, cashier, attendance management, recruitment company's cold calling, insurance, credit card, SIM card, flat-plot sales, donation collection for NGOs, etc.
Salary offered?  (Assuming they get job) Anywhere between Rs.3500/- Per month to 20 K.
Unfortunate is the fact that all these colleges prey on jobless and uneducated graduates. Yes, uneducated graduates, as many feel, MBA is education, graduation is subsidy.
We have voting rights to select our government at 18 years, at 21 years, we graduate, if you did not fudge your date of birth.21 years is legal age to marry and start a family. At 21, we are goofs. We are non-employable. We go for MBA to become eligible for a job.
On a rough estimate, undergraduate call centre executives earn more than MBAs from the B and C rung MBA colleges, at least for initial 5 yaers and may be even beyond.
How many colleges have incubation centres, other than IIMs?
When you cannot build business, how would you know how to run it?
How many companies get churned out of MBA colleges in India?
Though MBA has got several meanings..one I liked most is Mediocre and Below Average.
What most colleges even at top levels, do not teach is "enterprise". How do you build one?
None of the Deans, Professors have got the role to mentor entrepreneurs on campus and churn "x" number of business from campus.
Easy business that these colleges seek are-
Executive MBA, weekend MBA, at home MBA, on-line MBA, on line diploma, correspondence/distance learning programmes. Cash cows for many.Easy money! Education or certifications (shallow and dummy ones)
When their purpose is not enterprise, how will they build it?

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Some funny interviews and some cool tips

Interviewing is a great experince and that too when you are luckily getting interviewed by very Senior Executives... I have latest fun from the 2 such encounters that I had.. ACT#1. Global Head was interviewing me over phone and please note, there was no JD shared for the position. Call started with no idea given to me about the structure and duration of the call and no mention of if I will get opportunity to ask any questions. Normally senior Interviewers set the motion with structure, expectations and plan. Interestingly, nothing seemed planned or structured. Call starts with the typical personal question, "Tell me about your family".  No stopping there and next comes the tagged question. Yes, 2 questions merged in one, "Tell me about your pre-MBA experinece and why did you choose HR as MBA specialisation?". Not sure, if asking two mutually exclusive questions merged in one sentence saves time or anything else. But for sure, interviewer had no plan or structure in mind. Such fun is great to have but shameful for the MNC who depend on such interviewers. This company was highest paying company on my MBA campus. Trades in coffee, sugar etc. On abrupt end of call, he mentioned that he is coming down to my city and he would meet me face to face on a date, he mentioned. Consultant/Head hunter was coordinating it all. The day for F2F meeting was one day ahead , when I called Consultant to check if she has got the time and place for my F2F interview and she had no information. Funny was the fact that she cited, here goes the fun..."actually my boss only talks to the client and since boss is on leave I cannot give you details." I insisted and got a little tougher and asked her to confirm details as it was already evening and I was supposed to meet F2F next day. No response came till the interview day and you can imagine my anxiety, if not the Global recruitment Head's professionalism and work ethics. I went a step ahead and searched for interviewer's offcial mail ID on the net and I found a clue. Wrote him asking for "no-updates". He comes back and calls me after 2 days and metions that he was not well, etc and I asked him about his health. He did mention that he could read my anxiety in the mail and from there I was very sure, our F2F meeting was going to be a ritual with no outcome and that pretty much it was. On my interview visit, I maintained a 'cool guy image' and interview went pretty well. I was told that I will get the feedback on Monday and I got a call from the recruitment firm's Manager that " the line manager at that business unit was looking for someone senior and they may come back to me if required but as of now no." That is cool fun as this is the startegic advantage of not sharing a Job description at all, which was the case here and here you win as an interviewer. Cool tactics. Liked it.
ACT#2. Very senior lady HR person form a global jeans apparel brand, posts job on Linked in for Sr.HR Manager and I applied and she responds over email asking for phone interview date and time for 4 days later/over Friday. I responded with time. No call comes till Friday. On interview day/Friday, I called after 45 mins of time of interview missed, and she says, (watch the fun) " She is looking into the interview schedule and she does not find my name. I still have my response to her mail in my sent folder." But out of her sheer professionalism she says, "Since you called me let me give you a time for Monday at 1400 hrs and she just does not stop there, she even sends me an invite from her calendar and not even a few liner courtesy mail, though she had missed my mail. Pls. clap for this modern day professionalism exhibited by such senior HR folks. I respond back confirming her invite. Monday, here comes the time and date of phone interview (remember 1400 hrs), it is already 98 mins past the scheduled time of 1400 hrs and no call no SMS. Can you expect a bigger fun than this? Oh, my bad and update was there in my mail box at 1.35 pm (I did check it later), which was just a rude changed invite with change in date, now it was for the next day. No mail, no sorry, no professional courtesy. I decided to write to her my questions before I get the interview call and she did reply to some of them very professionally. She called me as on the scheduled time and did give me whole lot of information about her company and I appreciated her for her passion and knowledge of her business. Her talk lasted for 30 mins and then she told, she will carry on the round-2 discussion and will send me time. That did not happen for a week and I reminded her on mail. She responded, "She did not get time to talk to me and will keep me posted." I am waiting for her mail for closure or pre-closure. Long live Peter principle. I am loving it all with my french fries! Wanna have some?

TAKE COMMAND BY KELLY PERDEW

I especially liked what I italicised. I liked the most about "Integrity"

KELLY PERDEW—winner of The Apprentice 2—has it. His secret weapon: the principles he learned at West Point, as a U.S. Army Intelligence Officer, and as an Airborne Ranger—principles that he’s applied to business with the same firepower determination that makes our military the best on the battlefield. In Take Command: 10 Leadership Principles I Learned in the Military and Put to Work for Donald Trump, Kelly shows how you can be an effective leader—like Donald Trump, who himself attended a military school. He gives you an insider look at The Apprentice, at the Trump Organization, and at how other current business leaders with military training, like Ross Perot (Founder, EDS), Marty Evans (CEO, Red Cross), Bill Coleman (Founder, BEA Systems), and Roger Staubach (CEO, Staubach Company) have relied on the ten principles to achieve success.  • Duty. Do what you’re supposed to do, when you’re supposed to do it. • Impeccability. If it is worth doing, it is worth doing right. • Passion. Be passionate about what you do, and do what you’re passionate about. • Perseverance. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. • Planning. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. • Teamwork. There is no "I" in TEAM. • Loyalty. Remain loyal, up, down, and across your organization. • Flexibility. In all aspects of life, the person with the most varied responses wins. • Selfless Service. Give back. • Integrity. Take the harder right over the easier wrong. In the military, there’s no margin for error. Wrong decisions are deadly decisions. Likewise, in business, wrong decisions can cost you your job. But Kelly Perdew teaches you how you can take the can-do military spirit and be all you aspire to be—and win.

Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit: Amazon Leadership Principles

Amazon Leadership Principles
These are leadership principles
and every Amazonian is guided by these principles.
Customer Obsession
Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.

Ownership
Leaders are owners. They think long term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They act on behalf of the entire company, beyond just their own team. They never say “that’s not my job”.

Invent and Simplify
Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by “not invented here”. As we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.

Are Right, A Lot
Leaders are right a lot. They have strong business judgment and good instincts.

Hire and Develop the Best
Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent, and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in coaching others.

Insist on the Highest Standards
Leaders have relentlessly high standards - many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and drive their teams to deliver high quality products, services and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.

Think Big
Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results. They think differently and look around corners for ways to serve customers.

Bias for Action
Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk taking.

Frugality
We try not to spend money on things that don’t matter to customers. Frugality breeds resourcefulness, self-sufficiency and invention. There are no extra points for headcount, budget size or fixed expense.

Vocally Self Critical
Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of perfume. Leaders come forward with problems or information, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders benchmark themselves and their teams against the best.

Earn Trust of Others
Leaders are sincerely open-minded, genuinely listen, and are willing to examine their strongest convictions with humility.

Dive Deep Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details and audit frequently. No task is beneath them.
Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.

Deliver Results
Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion. Despite setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never settle.

Actors and Cricketers: Revived AB-Setting Sachin

"Sun never sets on British empire" but emperors set out to exit, depart, dropped or expire.
Amitabh has revived as cinema has broader scope for roles even when you stick to active and not try being producer, director, distributor or critic. Cricket does not have that. If you are not batting or bowling as sharp as you did earlier, bring you down the order will not help.

I was very confused to see Monty Paneshar so elated after dismissing Sachin at Wankhede yesterday. He was bowled over again, yes, again as it is easier to bowl him over than get him caught.

Looks like being on the grounds and still playing is compared to still on celluloid and cast for lead roles.
If one is on the ground, one is on the battle-field. Will need to fight and close combat. You cannot strategise on the field. That is an exercise done before landing on turf.

Sachin must learn from Amitabh and check where he can diversify, keeping intact and leverage his brand image and capitalise. Plenty of roles available outside being bowled everyday. Coach, commentator, critic, team manager, owning IPL team, heading BCCI, leading role in ICC and many more.

Time to stop Employee Farming!

  #Twitter  handle in Nov 2022 tweeted: "bye literally everyone"! Elon's tweet confirmed that this action was needed as  #twit...